tip to vary your thread color slightly while quilting
 

I suspect this is obvious to all you machine quilters, but it only just occurred to me today, so I thought I'd share!

I couldn't get the right color for the top thread for the quilt I'm working on. I was looking for a sort of pinkish periwinkle blue, and could only find lavender (too pink) or light blue (too blue). In frustration I gave up and went with the light blue, with a dark pink bobbin thread, to match the back. While I was messing around with my tension I noticed that if I kept the bobbin tension on the loose side, so that bobbin thread showed a little on top, I could make my light blue top thread look a bit closer to pinkish periwinkle, at least from a distance. The stitches still look perfectly decent - no loops or eyelashes. Both threads are of equal weight, which might be why the stitches are still well formed. I've had bobbin thread show through before, but never had it blend like this. Happy accident!

I tried taking pictures but the colors are just not showing up well enough to post them.

Alison

Happy accidents are always nice!! Just ask Bob Ross. well he used to say that all the time anyway.

glad that worked well and thanks for the tip

I still watch Bob Ross when they re run his shows on Create channel. He was a wonderful painter and died way too young.

I'm glad you found it worked so well for you. I usually use a white or off white.

I'm going to try a double eye needle on a project.

That's a good idea! That probably would have solved my problem perfectly!

Alison

Glad it work out so well!!!!!

Always good to find out how this can work. Thank you for sharing. It helps our creative juices. Love the sharing on this board

Great idea. Thanks for sharing.

Zoltan Szabo, watercolor painter used to say "happy accident", also:). it just applies to all arts!

Who is Bob Ross and what is the Create Channel? Love happy accidents, too. Although I don't have many.

Bob Ross was a painter who had a show that I used to see on PBS, although it may have been broadcast elsewhere. He was a low-voiced, calm person who "narrated" as he painted, so you could see how he made the effects he was creating on the canvas. When you watched him paint you felt like you could do it too...And he used to make little exclamations, and exhalations, that became a bit of a joke! ["yessss...thats it.....yessss!"]

Don't know what Create TV is.

Alison

I always call those things a design decision!